Posts Tagged ‘Tony Snell’

June 28, 2016 · 8:24 AM ET

From NBA.com staff reports

The Chicago Bulls are picking up the pieces from a 2015-16 season that saw them miss the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. Before last season began, the Bulls changed coaches, bringing in Fred Hoiberg in an effort pump up the team’s offensive output in hopes of furthering Chicago’s championship hopes.

That didn’t exactly happen, though, as the Bulls’ offensive rating actually fell from 104.7to 102.1 last season. Aside from those scoring woes, a problem that crept into the mix around Christmas was when star swingman Jimmy Butler called Hoiberg’s coaching into question, saying Hoiberg needed to “coach better.”

As the Bulls introduced their new rookie, Denzel Valentine, to the media yesterday, Hoiberg said he and Butler are not on shaky ground and that he is confident in his relationship with the All-Star. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune has more:

Fred Hoiberg didn’t need to fly four hours to come up with his three-word answer to the question of whether he can coach Jimmy Butler.

“Absolutely I can,” Hoiberg said Monday.

But Hoiberg’s trip two weeks ago to meet with Butler and other players using Los Angeles as their offseason base — Tony Snell and Taj Gibson — continued to develop a relationship that was called into question last season. That’s when Butler claimed Hoiberg needed to “coach harder.”

At last month’s draft lottery, Butler said his relationship with Hoiberg had grown.

“Jimmy and I have pretty much been in constant communication since the season’s been over,” Hoiberg said. “He’s in a great frame of mind right now.”

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“The biggest thing with our group is we need to play more consistent basketball next year,” Hoiberg said. “You go 7-1 against Toronto and Cleveland and 17-13 against the West and find ourselves out of the playoffs. That can’t happen. That’s what I talked about to Jimmy and all of our players.”

Hoiberg said Butler plans to visit with the Bulls’ summer-league team in Las Vegas when he’s there to train with Team USA, which officially named Butler an Olympian on Monday.

For his part, first-round pick Denzel Valentine said he is excited to play with Butler. Valentine said Butler texted him congratulations after the draft.

“He’s tough,” Valentine said. “He’s not afraid to compete and get after that. I really like that. He’s really developed his offensive game. If you pass him the ball, he’s going to get a bucket. Playing with players like that, I get more assists.”

May 1, 2015 · 12:04 PM ET

HANG TIME NEW JERSEY — The Cleveland Cavaliers swept their first-round series against the Boston Celtics, but came out of it in worse shape than they went in.

Kevin Love is out for the rest of the postseason. And J.R. Smith is suspended for the first two games of the conference semifinals. That will make the Cavs vulnerable at home, where they’re 22-1 since LeBron James returned from his hiatus in mid-January. And it will challenge head coach David Blatt to come up with the right lineup combinations around James and Kyrie Irving.

The Chicago Bulls will be a challenge as well. Though they struggled to finish off the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, the Bulls are healthier than ever. The Bucks series was the first time since Jan. 1 that all five Chicago starters played in six straight games.

Cavs-Bulls in the playoffs brings back memories of Michael Jordan game-winners, but Chicago has lost all three times it has met James in the postseason (2010, ’11 and ’13).

Butler didn’t play in either of the games in Chicago. James averaged 26.3 shots and 7.7 free throw attempts per 36 minutes with Butler off the floor, and 19.8 shots and 3.6 free throw attempts per 36 with Butler on the floor.

February 7, 2015 · 9:41 PM ET

Andrew Bogut‘s shattered arm (or worse) flashed before the New Orleans fans’ eyes when young superstar Anthony Davis crashed to the floor Saturday night at the Smoothie King Center.

Davis, the Pelicans’ 21-year-old All-Star big man, hit the court hard when his momentum carried him on a breakout dunk – and grab at the rim – which took his legs out from under him. His spill sent a scare through the arena with 5:27 left in the second quarter against the Chicago Bulls, with Pelicans’ medical staff rushing to assist Davis. Several long moments passed before he got up and, initially, stayed in the game, his bucket putting New Orleans in front 32-30. Neither Davis nor the lead lasted long though; he exited with a right shoulder injury at 4:16 and from that point through the end of the third quarter, the Bulls outscored New Orleans 46-21.

Davis’ mishap was reminiscent of Bogut’s crash landing late in the 2009-10 season, when the then-Milwaukee Bucks’ center similarly went hard for a fast-break dunk. As in Davis’ case, Bogut’s feet swung out when he grabbed the rim and he landed with his right arm folded beneath him, his full body weight slamming down. The Bucks’ big man suffered a broken elbow and wrist in the frightening fall, his season ended on April 4 and spoiling what had been his team’s “Fear The Dear” run to the 2010 Eastern Conference playoffs.

In Bogut’s case, Phoenix’s Amar’e Stoudemire trailed him as he caught the long outlet pass and appeared to give Bogut a push in the back as he went up, earning a flagrant foul on the play. With Davis, one camera angle seemed to show a similar nudge from Chicago’s Tony Snell. But other angles made any contact appear incidental, and no foul was whistled on the play.

One night Davis was electrifying Pelicans’ fans from afar with 41 points, 10 rebounds and a buzzer-beating, desperation 3-pointer to beat the Thunder in Oklahoma City. The next he’s half-scaring them (and maybe himself) to death. A prognosis wasn’t immediately known, though it’s unlikely to convert him into a perimeter shooter as a way of minimizing future damage.

No. 1:George suffers gruesome leg fracture — Indiana Pacers All-Star small forward Paul George suffered an open tibia-fibula fracture during Team USA’s scrimmage and is expected to remain hospitalized for about three days, USA Basketball confirmed in a statement released after surgery was completed. The gruesome injury sent George away on a stretcher with his parents by his side and ended the men’s national team scrimmage early in the fourth quarter. NBA.com’s John Schuhmann was on the scene:

In the first minute of the fourth quarter of the USA Basketball Showcase on Friday, George attempted to block a James Harden layup on a fast break. On his landing, his right leg buckled as it hit the basket support.

Players around George were shaken by what they saw. As George received medical attention on the baseline of the Thomas & Mack Center, his mother and father came down from the crowd and were by his side. Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard was also in attendance.

“[George] appeared, like, stoic,” USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski said afterward. “They allowed his father to touch him and to comfort him. I thought our trainers did a great job, right away, of making sure, emotionally, he was as good as possible. But Paul reacted well.”

Both teams gathered together in prayer before George was taken away in a stretcher. And there was a universal decision to end the game with 9:33 to go.

“With the serious injury that we had,” Krzyzewski announced to the assembled crowd, “and the fact that we stopped playing for a long time and, really, in respect for Paul and his family, the scrimmage is done. We want to thank you for your support.”

Afterward, USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said that there would be no decisions on the USA roster “for a while.”

“We need to just take a step back before we do anything at all,” Colangelo said. “Our first concern, our primary concern is Paul George.”

Colangelo and Krzyzewski said that they would be heading to the hospital immediately after speaking to the media. They had been set to cut the roster down from 20 to 15, likely early Saturday. But the team is not scheduled to reconvene until Aug. 14 in Chicago and there’s no urgency to make any decisions now.

Before George’s injury, Friday night was about the performance of Derrick Rose, who looked as quick and explosive as ever in his first game in almost nine months. But just as the USA and the NBA got one star back, it lost another. George was set to be the starting small forward for the U.S. Team at the World Cup, which begins Aug. 30 in Spain. And though there are no details on his injury as of yet, it is likely to keep him out several months.

“We are aware of the injury sustained by Paul George in Friday night’s Team USA game in Las Vegas and we are obviously greatly concerned,” Pacers president Larry Bird said in a statement. “At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with Paul.”

July 14, 2014 · 1:05 AM ET

LAS VEGAS – Convincing people that Doug McDermott is more than a shooter is like buying a Corvette and touting its fuel economy.

That was the case with McDermott Sunday in his second Summer League performance. The Chicago Bulls’ first-round pick out of Creighton lit up the Cox Pavilion so brightly – 7-for-12 overall, 5-for-9 from the arc, 12-for-12 from the line and 31 points against Denver’s squad – that anyone making a case for all the alleged other things in his game would have been drowned out, anyway, by the crowd’s reactions to each bucket.

Or would that be McBucket?

“I’m fine with that,” McDermott said afterward, his proficiency outside sparking the Bulls’ group to 19-for-36 on 3-pointers. “Really, that’s my biggest strength right now.”

On the night they drafted him, Bulls GM Gar Forman and coach Tom Thibodeau went out of their way to talk up other facets of McDermott’s game. They cited his ball skills, his movement without the ball, his ability to post up and even his defense, though it likely wasn’t up to Thibsian standards yet. “If you view him as strictly a shooter, you’re not casting the proper light on him,” Thibodeau said.

That’s fine. Some pageant winners really are whizzes at calculus, too. But that generally isn’t why you notice them.

The Bulls ranked last in the NBA in 2013-14 in field-goal percentage, 28th in 3-point attempts, 24th in 3-point percentage, last in effective field-goal percentage and 28th in offensive rating. So it’s OK if McDermott, especially this season, does mostly what he does best, without apologies.

“I’m trying to add things to my game every day,” McDermott said. “I feel like I’m a lot more than a shooter. I feel like I’m a complete player. And having a coach like Tom Thibodeau, he’s only going to help me.”

McDermott, a 6-foot-8 small forward who led the nation in scoring (26.7 ppg) this season and scored 3,150 points in his four years of college, did show other parts of his game. He posted up effectively, he worked well with Bulls second-year guard Tony Snell (23 points) in some two-man action and he moved his feet sufficiently on defense, one time forcing a Denver shot-clock violation when he kept Carlon Brown in front of him without options.

McDermott finished with one rebound and one assist, but he took contact better than in his debut, earning his dozen trips to the line. He also filled the wing and finished a break with an impressive dunk. Overall, he felt he played a better, more relaxed game this time.

“Definitely, that first one, just a little uptight,” he said. “Just so excited for my first game. Today it slowed down. Today, it felt more like basketball. Back to normal.”

McDermott spent some time with Bulls assistant coach Andy Greer Sunday morning, going over video of his play against the Clippers Friday. He scored 10 points on 2-for-8 shooting, missed his three attempts inside the arc and turned over the ball four times.

One big adjustment: Spacing. He said he was “awful” at that in the opener. “Coming off screens, playing off others, spacing is huge,” McDermott said. “Tonight I was able to get a lot better looks because I was in the right spots.

“Last night [Saturday], I was being too quick around the rim, forcing some stupid plays. Tonight, I was much more calm and able to get to the rim a little easier, and finish.”

Given the big tease to this point – that’s what summer league proficiency often is – the next question will be, can McDermott get on the floor enough to get to the rim and show all those other marvelous skills besides shooting?

He is, after all, a rookie and rookies do not play a lot under Thibodeau. At least, that’s the conventional wisdom – with which Thibodeau takes some issue.

“Do the research,” he said, after suggesting that, league-wide, few rookies log long minutes, especially those drafted to winning teams.

OK, here goes:

No rookie last season cracked the top 20 in minutes played. Only four topped 1,900 minutes – MVP Kevin Durant led the league with 3,122 – and only three averaged as many as 27 minutes.

Only nine rookies averaged 20 minutes or more. Chicago’s Snell, the No. 20 pick, ranked 13th in total minutes (1,231) and 14th in average (16.0).

The top 10 players taken in 2013 – 11, but not factoring in Nerlens Noel – averaged 20.5 minutes as rookies. The bottom 10 picks in the first round averaged 12.4 minutes. In 2012, those numbers were 25.5 for the top 10 and 9.7 for the bottom 10.

Since Thibodeau was hired in June 2010, his rookies have been picked 30th (Jimmy Butler), 29th (Marquis Teague) and 20th (Snell).

McDermott was the No. 11 pick, so his minutes might be expected to fall closer to the top 10 than the bottom 10. If he earns them, that is, by not making mistakes that outweigh his contributions.

But the way he shot the ball Sunday, he might make it hard for Thibodeau not to play him.

December 3, 2013 · 12:50 PM ET

CHICAGO – Defeat upon defeat has led rapidly to despair, and a Chicago Bulls team already demoralized by another season-ending injury to star point guard Derrick Rose soon might find itself on the verge of depression. Angry at the basketball gods, feeling sorry for themselves – that’s certainly no way to slog through the five long months that remain in the NBA regular season, months made tough enough in these parts by wind chills and salt trucks.

But a 1-6 stretch since Nov. 18, an exhausting triple-overtime home loss to New Orleans and a no-mercy NBA schedule that brings the two-time champion Miami Heat to town Thursday had the Bulls slumped in chairs and dead on their feet late Monday night. They had left town nearly two weeks earlier, eager to bond, Rose “close” to his pre-ACL surgery form, on their daunting annual “circus trip” (when United Center welcomes the clowns and elephants, sending the Bulls and the NHL Blackhawks on the road each November).

They didn’t come home with even a lousy T-shirt. Rose is gone again, done in by a torn meniscus in his right (other) knee this time. What remains, while a lot, was built to welcome and maximize his return, without alternate shot creators such as Nate Robinson or Marco Belinelli. Mike Dunleavy was signed to spread the floor, his deep threat opening lanes for Rose.

This time, there’d been no time to prepare the roster, never mind the Bulls’ psyches, for such an outrageous loss of star power, confidence, swagger and ambition. Pluck? Overachievement? Chicago got its bellyful of that last time around, when the Bulls at least had the carrot of a Rose return dangled through the season’s second half.

This one was gonna hurt, and it has. The Bulls lost in Portland the night Rose went down, got blown out two days later by the Clippers in L.A., and – aside from a character victory in Detroit last Wednesday – has dropped overtime games to Utah and New Orleans and lost in the final seconds at Cleveland.

“In this league, you start feeling bad for yourself and the wolves come,” forward Taj Gibson said after the Pelicans loss. “The wolves aren’t going to feel sorry for you. Every team is going to come in smelling blood and feel like they need to get a win.”

“We’re showing a lot of fight,” coach Tom Thibodeau said, “and don’t have much to show for it.”

Clearly, that can’t continue. If the Bulls hope to make this season bearable not just for the customers and the TV cameras but for themselves – entertaining and successful are pretty much off the board – here are five targets toward which they can strive:

1. Develop your young players. Bulls VP John Paxson said that, whether by design or not, player development invariably looms larger for teams that suffer manpower outages. For Chicago, that means plumbing the skills and potential of rookies Tony Snell and Erik Murphy. Snell already has been tested more than expected, moving into the starting lineup when Jimmy Butler – who benefited from last season’s talent drain, especially late – went out with turf toe. Thibodeau likes Snell’s attitude and effort, and his high-arcing 3-pointers are a welcome variation on Butler’s clothesline attempts.

Developing players also means learning what’s not there, which has been the case so far with point guard Marquis Teague. The team’s first-round pick in 2012, Teague had a typical Bulls redshirt season as a rookie. But he hasn’t earned anyone’s confidence now in his second try and has fallen behind 38-year-old Mike James in the rotation. On Tuesday, Teague was assigned to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League.

2. Remember who you are. Everyone figured the Bulls would struggle offensively without Rose, both throughout the game and particularly at closing time. The other side of the ball didn’t figure to suffer as much, and yet Chicago’s defense has been way too Thibodeau-vexing through the first five weeks. Rebounding hasn’t been reliable and so far, teams have pelted them from 3-point range (the Bulls rank 29th in opponents’ percentage from there, .399). Prior to Monday’s marathon, Thibodeau recited the three tenets of staying close/winning games: Defense, rebounds and low turnovers. It’s who they’ve been, even through Rose absences, and it’s who they need to be again.

3. Lean on the front office. This means more than the obvious keep-him-or-trade him decision on two-time All-Star Luol Deng, who will hit free agency this summer. That one’s been getting the attention from Chicago’s fan base – Lose Deng for nothing? Get something now or take the cap space in July? – but Paxson and GM Gar Forman face other challenges.

Dunleavy, who signed a reasonable two-year, $6.5 million mid-level deal, could attract offers as the February trade deadline approaches. The frontcourt needed more size back when the Bulls were chasing a Larry O’Brien trophy, but the most pressing position now is point guard, where Kirk Hinrich is starting again and almost certain to break down from overuse. Teague and James make some sort of move imperative, whether it’s from the waiver wire, the D-League or off the street.

Longer term, Paxson and Forman face the harsh reality of building around a one-time MVP who will have played only 50 games in three years by the time he’s back on an NBA court. Gibson, Butler, Snell, center Joakim Noah and, if he’s back, Deng still would form a young-enough, talented-enough core. But the Bulls would need their Nikola Mirotic import plan to pan out, put to stellar use the future No. 1 they hold from Charlotte and get Rose back as undiminished as possible as a franchise guy. That’s a lot. And they can’t just rely on the lottery luck that delivered Rose.

4. Spoil other teams’ nights. That never gets old. Remember the satisfaction that came from ending Miami’s 27-game winning streak — without Rose available — at United Center last March? (Of course, payback might pinch a little Thursday.)

5. Remember, someone always is watching. That means possible trade partners and future employers. If Chicago can’t realistically hope to reach The Finals, its players and coaches can find ways to redefine and reinvent themselves. Find the next Butler, in Snell or whomever, who can provide the roster with a bonus player. Discover a closer in Rose’s absence so he has more help when he does come back.

For Deng – a machine since Rose went down – there is a market to make. Maybe for Carlos Boozer, too, if the Bulls finally pull the amnesty trigger next summer and he wants to keep playing. For Noah, it’s the mental chore of soldiering on without “Pooh” (Rose’s nickname). For Thibodeau, add wrinkles offensively (the Bulls already were doing that before Rose’s injury) and somehow manage minutes in a way that doesn’t grind guys to nubbins.

November 26, 2013 · 12:09 AM ET

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DALLAS — Back in Chicago for a late October preseason game, Nuggets guard Nate Robinson acknowledged how much he missed his old Bulls teammates with whom he’d been through so much during last season’s inspiring and trying ride without Derrick Rose.

Exactly a month later, with Rose having undergone season-ending knee surgery Monday, it’s the Bulls who might miss Robinson more than they could have imagined.

An important offensive spark and a big-shot maker during his one season with Chicago, Robinson never got the chance to play with Rose. Just four nights ago, he faced off against him in Denver, going for 11 points and three assists to help his new club beat the Bulls by 10. The next night at Portland, Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee just 10 games into his return from the torn ACL in his left knee that kept him out all of last season.

“Sad,” Robinson told NBA.com Monday night as the Nuggets prepared to face the Dallas Mavericks. “It’s sad for me, it’s sad for him, I know for sure. My son was really sad about it because he loved Derrick Rose. He got a picture with him last year. He was so excited.”

The entire NBA was excited to have Rose, the 2010-11 league MVP, back in action. Suddenly, and sadly, everybody’s wondering if Chicago can reset again without their star point guard and grind out another season without him. That process has started excruciatingly slow in the immediate aftermath. On Sunday in Los Angeles, the Clippers hammered the Bulls by 39 points, 121-82. Playing at one-win Utah on Monday, the Bulls struggled again, losing, 89-83 to the Jazz in OT.

They’ll have to do it without the bolt of energy that is the 5-foot-9 Robinson, who produced one of those familiar scoring flurries in Dallas with 17 points, 13 coming in the fourth quarter that included three 3-pointers to help the Nuggets get a 110-96 road win. With Chicago, Robinson averaged 25.4 mpg and played in all 82 games for the injury-riddled squad. He averaged 13.1 ppg and 4.4 apg for the Bulls, and 16.3 ppg during their gritty playoff run into the East semifinals that included an unforgettable 34-point explosion in the triple-overtime Game 4 win in the first round against the Nets.

Robinson started 23 games and was indispensable to Chicago’s success considering Kirk Hinrich, who again takes over as the starting point guard, played in just 60 games last season.

In Sunday’s loss to the Clippers, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau started Mike Dunleavy alongside Hinrich with regular starter Jimmy Butler (sprained big toe) still injured. Monday night at Utah, Thibodeau gave rookie Tony Snell the start. At the point, Chicago also has veteran journeyman Mike James and second-year point guard Marquis Teague, who played in 48 games last season and had played in just half of the Bulls’ first 12 games.

Considering the circumstance, Robinson, who signed a two-year, $4.1-million free-agent deal with the Nuggets, would likely again be counted on as a big-minute contributor in Chicago. But he’s long gone.

“I don’t know what they need. I don’t know nothing about it,” Robinson said of the Bulls’ predicament. “I know these guys here, I got their backs, my new teammates.”

It hasn’t been instant success start for Robinson, 29, in Denver, which has a glut of backcourt players with Randy Foye starting alongside Ty Lawson, and a bench that includes veteran Andre Miller, who still logs 18.9 mpg, plus second-year swingman Evan Fournier. New coach Brian Shaw is playing Robinson 16.9 mpg. He’s averaging 7.5 ppg and 2.3 apg. He’s shooting 34.4 percent from the floor, although 40.6 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

After a sluggish start to the season, the up-tempo Nuggets are now 7-6 and on a three-game win streak as they adjust to Shaw’s more inside-out offensive approach. Forward Wilson Chandler recently returned to the lineup and at some point forward Danilo Gallinari will make his return from the ACL injury he sustained last April.

Still, the Nuggets are getting up and down the floor, a quick pace that seems a natural fit for the frenetic Robinson.

July 20, 2013 · 12:36 AM ET

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LAS VEGAS — Friday was moving day, as in moving on out for the 14 teams that filled out the consolation bracket of the first-ever Summer League tournament. The day featured seven games in two arenas spanning more than eight hours of basketball.

Eight teams will get back to action in Saturday’s quarterfinals in the Championship bracket with the semifinals on Sunday and the inaugural championship game on Monday night (9 p.m. ET, NBA TV).

Here’s a look at who did what in their final appearance of the summer.

Non-rookie of the day:Austin Rivers, the 10th overall pick a year ago by New Orleans and who now must wonder where his playing time will come in a backcourt that includes Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans left coach Monty Williams with something to remember, scoring 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting, plus three assists in 32:29.

Other notables: Atlanta’s Mike Scott, the 43rd pick a year ago who played in 40 games last season for the Hawks, had a huge day with 25 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. He made all 12 of his free-throw attempts. Denver’s Luke Harangody had 17 points, and Memphis’ Donte Green scored 16 points. Mavs point guard Justin Dentmon, who has toiled overseas and in the D-League with a few 10-day NBA contracts sprinkled in, lit it up late in a loss to Chicago for 23 points while hitting. Trail Blazers guard Terrel Harris finished strong with 25 points on 11-for-19 shooting and six rebounds.

Rookie of the day: We have a tie in this category. Sacramento’s Ben McLemore put on a show with a spectacular 19-point third quarter that helped the Kings get their lone win of the summer over the Hawks. He was 10-for-21 from the floor and had nine rebounds. Spurs forward Hollis Thompson, who played in the D-League last season coming out of Georgetown, pushed San Antonio to a final-day, 90-80 victory over Milwaukee with a box-score-stuffing stat line: 21 points (8-12 FG, 2-2 3FG, 3-3 FT), four rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal in just 28 minutes.

Other notables: McLemore’s teammate Ray McCallum, a second-round pick, continues to impress with his quickness and smarts. He delivered 12 points and 11 assists (we also must mention Kings forward David Lighty going 8-for-9 from the field for 16 points). Bucks point guard Nate Wolters scored 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting and added five rebounds and three assists in the 90-80 loss to the Spurs. The Knicks got a huge lift from their bench in a 91-80 win over the Clippers. Terrence Jennings, who has played overseas and in the D-League, had 14 points and nine rebounds while D-League rookie of the year Tony Mitchell out of Alabama had 15 points and four rebounds. Bulls second-round pick Erik Murphy, who suffered a broken nose earlier in the week, paced Chicago past Dallas with 19 points (7-for-10 shooting, 3-for-5 on 3s) and 13 rebounds. Teammate Tony Snell, the 20th pick out of New Mexico, had 20 points, seven boards and three dimes.

Coming Up: The quarterfinals of the championship bracket gets started at 4 p.m. ET when the 18th-seeded Heat take on the seventh-seeded Cavaliers. Then it’s No. 3 Phoenix taking on No. 6 Toronto, the No. 4 D-League Select team against No. 5 Charlotte and finally No. 1 Golden State against No. 8 Los Angeles Lakers.

June 28, 2013 · 12:20 AM ET

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DEERFIELD, Ill. – Chicago forward Luol Deng got neither a trade nor a contract extension by the end of NBA business late on Draft night Thursday, which should only make his summer more, um, compelling.

That’s a fill-in-the-blank euphemism for the crossroads at which Deng finds himself at age 28.

Deng, the Bulls’ two-time All-Star, has been coach Tom Thibodeau‘s most leaned-upon player for the past three years, at both ends of the floor and through the teams’ many injuries (Deng plays hurt more than any other Bull and most of his NBA peers). During the season, that makes him invaluable on the floor and in the locker room.

During the offseason, though, that makes him an asset. And that’s how Deng was being assessed, evaluated, sliced and diced as the draft approached.

Some reports had the Bulls talking about a deal with Washington that would have sent Deng to the Wizards for the No. 3 pick and Emeka Okafor – Washington took Otto PorterJr. with the third pick instead. Okafor and Deng, meanwhile, went nowhere.

Other reports suggested that Deng was in negotiations with Chicago brass for a contract extension, presumably something that would bring his annual salary down from the $14.2 million he’ll earn in 2013-14 – down, that is, if Deng wanted to stick with the Bulls.

With Derrick Rose ($18.8 million), Carlos Boozer ($16.8 million), Joakim Noah ($12.2 million) and Taj Gibson ($8 million) on the books for $55.8 million in 2014-15 – Boozer as an amnesty candidate – Chicago is sensitive to payroll, cap and luxury-tax implications for the summer of 2014 and beyond.

But the extension talks were swatted down by Deng’s agent, Herb Rudoy, early in the week.

Then with the No. 20 pick Thursday, Chicago drafted 6-foot-7 New Mexico wingman Tony Snell, described in NBA shorthand as a “3&D” guy. That puts him in the Bulls team photo next to 6-foot-7 wingman Jimmy Butler, who showed some of the same skills in a breakout second season in 2012-13. Butler is heavier on the ‘D,’ still developing on the 3 but based on his performance after the All-Star break and against Brooklyn and Miami in the playoffs, he already has been inked into the starting backcourt spot next toRose.

Snell – touted for his 6-foot-11 wingspan, 8-9 standing reach, 9-inch hand length and 4.9% body fat – was a high school teammate of San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard in Riverside, Calif., but is only four months younger than the Spurs forward, who already has logged two NBA seasons and one stellar Finals. So we’ll skip any comparisons there.

We won’t make any to Deng, either, a heady, selfless player finds ways to caulk around whatever his Chicago teammates are or aren’t providing on a given night. But Deng got ill in the playoffs, followed by a spinal tap to rule out meningitis and complications from that procedure, ending his postseason. That gave them another taste of life without the 6-foot-8 veteran – and life went on.

Washington, its roster so young, could use a veteran such as Deng, same as several other teams. Deng, a proud man, deserves to be appreciated for all he’s done and keeps doing for the Bulls. That’s a long shot, given management’s budget red lines and some fans’ vocal treatment of the South Sudan gentleman during some earlier periods of contract wrangling and under-performance.

Deng’s heavy minutes through a bum wrist and other ailments also have left him feeling a little taken for granted. And the front office’s apparent determination to keep its powder dry for 2014 and beyond – despite Rose’s eagerness and various opportunities and vulnerabilities in the Eastern Conference – might make younger, cheaper facsimiles look awfully attractive.

“We value Luol as you all know,” Bulls GM Gar Forman said late Thursday. “Luol’s a big piece of what we’re doing. He’s been a big piece of the success we’ve had the last couple years. And he’ll continue to be a big piece of what we do moving forward.”

Deng and his future in Chicago (or elsewhere) is as good a barometer for the Bulls in 2013-14 as anything this offseason.